President to propose Ohryzko again

As the country’s foreign minister

Victor Yushchenko is going to ask parliament again to approve Volodymyr Ohryzko as the country’s foreign minister, his chief of staff, Viktor Baloha, said on Tuesday, according to the President`s press-office.

He said the President would propose Ohryzko again because he saw him as a “professional and experienced diplomat and manager” and last week’s vote to reject his choice as “another failure of the ruling coalition, the Party of Regions in particular, to fulfill its promises.”

Baloha said Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who formally leads the Party of Regions, had discussed the candidacy of Ohryzko with the President several times and had never opposed the choice.

“However, the vote to reject Volodymyr Stanislavovych has proven again that the coalition forgets its words and promises easily. The parliamentary majority continues to devalue agreements.”

Baloha said the President’s goal was to appoint an effective professional.

“The Foreign Ministry is not the place for political maneuvers. One of the country’s key offices has to have its head. It is time we stop looking ridiculous. Ukraine does not deserve this,” he quoted Victor Yushchenko as saying.

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